The process of managing credit card transactions in a fleet of motor vehicles for hire, such as taxis and limousines, can be quite cumbersome. For example, for a taxi service that accepts passengers on the street on an ad hoc basis, the driver typically does not know the passenger in advance and must wait until the end of the trip to determine the fare and other payments that are due. The fare can vary based on information such as location, length of trip, starting or ending location at an airport, time of day, tolls, etc. It is desirable to process the transaction as quickly as possible so that the next trip can be started.
Furthermore, the credit card transactions must typically be accounted for when the driver returns the vehicle at the end of the shift. The lack of easily accessible credit card transaction information makes settlement between the driver and fleet manager difficult, and the settlement process can be quite extensive and time consuming.
It is also vitally important that the credit card transactions be made securely and quickly over a wireless communications network that may have highly varying quality. This environment has a high potential for data loss, poor reporting, and errors in the basic data for a credit card transaction. In many locations, the vehicles must offer services to unidentified passengers and if a transaction is not completed before the passenger leaves the vehicle, it may be very difficult if not impossible to recover the credit charge and there is a disadvantage that the revenue attributable to the vehicle is not maximized.
There have been recent technological advances so that, for example, the location of fleet vehicles can be determined, credit card and debit card payments can be made, and drivers can be communicated with, in real-time or near real-time. In light of the shortcomings described above, it would be advantageous to have a credit card processing system for a vehicle fleet that is different in many basic respects from conventional credit card processing methods.